Marathon Training & Distance Running Tips: The runners guide for endurance training and racing, beginner running programs and advice: 8 (Beginner fitness mindset & home workouts)

James is an incredibly distinguished writer whose approach to recording his knowledge as an acclaimed personal trainer through text is suited perfectly to runners of all abilities and levels of experience. His focus switches seamlessly from more common athletic training approaches to methods modeled from his own personal experiences, struggles and successes throughout his journey as an athlete, the sharing of which has helped aid my progression as a runner tenfold. I'd highly rate James as both an author and trainer and would strongly recommend this book as an easy way into the mind and techniques of an elite in a way that could help develop current runners of all abilities, whether training for a marathon or your first 5km. An exceptional read with an equally exceptional touch of personality that shines through from cover to cover.

Having started training for a half-marathon I found this book good, straight forward advice and easy reading. It’s a short book but with a fair bit of content. I would recommend it for motivation and guidance when starting long-distance running.

An inspirational read written by someone who clearly knows what they are talking about. Even though I have completed a marathon before, and read a lot of books on running, I learnt some great tips from this book. I found the advice on running posture very valuable as I am guilty of staring at the floor when I run which has caused me some back issues in the past. There is plenty more packed into the book including nutrition advice, injury free running and how to get out of a training rut. I really recommend this book to both beginners and the more experienced runner. I am going to be taking part in another marathon next year and I will be using a lot of the advice and tips from this book when I start my training.

The information in this book is useful and to the point. The book is pretty short, and could have been more detailed. I am looking to do my first Marathon. It leaves a lot of stuff to your imagination. I noticed in the nutrition section, there was no mention about how to go about taking nutrition whilst running. It only mentions how to eat healthily before races and training and afterwards. Nutrition on the run is an area of Marathon running I am quite worried about, especially when gastro intestinal problems are very common during running and after you have stopped. In the "Marathon race day List" of things to take, Gels were not even mentioned, despite the well known fact that you shouldn't use the Gels provided at the hydration stations if you have not tried that particular brand before. The book does however mention trimming your toe nails pre race. I recently did this, and made the error of cutting them too short which resulted in them being painful for 2 weeks. The advice offered about this made no mention that it is advisable to trim them earlier than the day before the race! It also appeared this book was written mainly for men. It mentioned chafing, but only with reference to things that happen to men. There was no mention of choosing a good sports bra, which is a highly important piece of kit for a woman. I realise the author is male, but it wouldn't have hurt to do a little research on women's requirements when writing a book designed for everyone to enjoy. There was lots of information about packing a backpack with 10 lbs of weight which is supposed to increase endurance, but for a slight woman like myself (45 Kg and 153 cm tall), I think it would increase the risk of injury running with the equivalent of 2 bags of potatoes in tow on every run!!! Finally, this is the first Marathon plan I have ever seen which has the longest run at only 15 miles - 11 miles short of your target distance. I am sceptical the average runner could confidently run a Marathon without a longer "Long run" before race day!

I have no wish to be unkind as the writer's sincere enthusiasm for his subject is never in doubt. The good points are that there are several sound tips from an experienced runner and many beginners will probably find these helpful. The book is also short and cheap. Both to be greatly desired in my opinion! Unfortunately, the weaknesses rather undermine the good stuff. It is rather poorly written in a matey manner that is a bit tiresome and completely without any attempt to make it suitable for women, as well as men. Advice is given without evidence or any attempt at an explanation. This means that you just have to take it on trust. In some areas (e.g. footwear) he declines to give any really useful advice at all. In others, such as the (single) training schedule and the advice on diet, I just didn't believe what I was being told. It all struck me as the assertions of someone who has managed to achieve the difficult feat of running a marathon successfully and believes that this alone entitles him to advise the rest of us. I read this to get detailed advice about footwear, clothing, successfully balancing training with ordinary life, several different possible training regimes and some sound advice on diet. I would also hope for a balanced presentation of the evidence for such advice. None of these things are present in the book and so I really don't feel that I can recommend it.

For beginners, or anyone thinking of changing up from jogging to series endurance running, this is an invaluable guide, not only to the things you need to do to reach your goals, but also the seriously stupid things that you might be tempted to try, and which will inevitably cause you problems or even injuries. James Atkinson uses lot of his own experiences in military training to illustrate the right and wrong way to go about preparing, training, nutrition, and execution. Save yourself a lot of time and pain and follow his advice, and if marathons are on your bucket list, you'll stand a much better chance of success. Excellent, well-written, and thoroughly useful.

Looked like a great product but maybe should have done some more research into it and the author before purchasing. The author clearly comes from a fitness background and has overall knowledge but the more you read the more it seems that his expertise is in strength and bodybuilding. All mentions of long distance running refer to his military training which is very impressive but there didn’t seem to be any mentions of him actually running a marathon or even a half marathon himself. From a book that has Marathon Training as a large title on the cover, I expected more specific expertise. Chapters and advice for each topic was very short with some padded out with stories from military training. Unfortunately didn’t get much from this. How to avoid blisters? Wear two pairs of socks. How to avoid injury? Don’t get injured. Random chapter in the middle of the book asking you to leave a review. Guess it worked but not for the right reason. Then the last chapters are a plug for another book on fitness and motivation, which I actually think would be a great book as it seems to match the authors expertise better. If you’ve never laced up a pair of running shoes before then there’s definitely some good pointers in there, but if you’re looking for marathon specific training then I’d look elsewhere

Great book, great information and really motivating

This is a well written book. Not only that, but the author clearly knows his stuff. I trained for a marathon 20 years ago and never did it. If I had this book then, I believe would have continued running, would have finished what I started, and would still be in shape today. At the time, I tried to figure it out on my own, after all it is just "running" right? Wrong. If you actually want to accomplish something by running, whether it is completing a marathon, or just getting in shape and losing weight, you need guidelines and a plan. This book provides both. The author goes into so much detail from the shoes, to posture, to dieting, to your mental state. Not only that, but it is written in a supportive, uplifting way. This is combined with the author's personal experiences which makes the book not only a good source of information, but also an enjoyable read. The part I really like is his week by week training regimen for a marathon. It gives me goals, keeps me on track, and I can monitor my progress. All in all, this is a fine book for anyone who wants to attempt a marathon. More importantly, it is a great book for anyone who just wants to learn how to run properly, efficiently, and with the greatest health benefits. I have purchased a lot of Kindle books and consider this particular one a great bargain.

I started 10-weeks ago to work on a half-marathon and with a couple of tips from this book I successfully completed it, injury free! I could stop with my review there, but I guess some things to add: + easy reading + enjoyed the real-life trial and error stories + the tips did help + Yes you could google "training schedule for marathon" and you'd get a lot of hits, but this book provided some of the why behind those schedules Worth a read!

There is some great information for running progression, I picked up a lot of useful tips from the book. As usual, Jim has written an entertaining, real read. It gives great insight into training methods other than just running for mileage. In one of the many sections he writes about how you can use short “sprint training” sessions to help with long distance progression. I had not previously read about this techniques so it was good to be expanding my knowledge. There are some great lessons from his past experience, his own mistakes and mistakes of other runners that he has known. This will no doubt save the budding long distance runner from a lot of potential setbacks. All in all a solid runners guide! I have read a few of Jim's other books and definitely recommend his no nonsense style. I will defiantly be dipping back into this book from time to time!

I am an experienced runner getting ready to train for maybe a full or half. However, I was expecting a little more about marathon running. This book is great for the non experienced/newly runner, but not so much for the already experienced. Some parts were a good review,enjoyed the short stories, but was expecting more about the marathon for experienced runner.